Then I ask for their current upper-body workout and they proceed to tell me about their barbell and machine potpourri, how they constantly train to failure, and, oh, how they finish every workout with a protein shake.

OK… let’s address a few things here. One, doing everything to failure is a recipe for disaster. Muscles grow when you’re away from the gym, not when you’re beating them to death.

Two, if you want a barrel chest, you need to add mass all over. You’ll never build a “big chest” if you’re 6'0" and 160 pounds — add another 20 pounds and then we can talk about sculpting a huge upper-body. (And don’t forget leg day!)

Three, muscle growth isn’t about the exercises you choose; it’s about consistently adding strength and using set/rep/rest schemes that deliver results.

These three points are enough to blow the minds of most guys — now it’s time to put it together for a program.

Today, I’ll show you the 29-day guide to add size and strength to your chest. This might not look like anything you’ve ever seen before, but that’s okay. “Everything popular is wrong,” said Oscar Wilde.

How This Workout Works

This program is designed to build a bigger and stronger chest without the bullsh*t. You won’t see 20 different chest exercises here — just bread-and-butter moves guaranteedto add mass to your upper body.

You’ll also target the muscles you CAN’T see in the mirror (i.e. your back and lats). Why? Because it’s impossible to build a massive chest without having a correspondingly massive back. In fact, too many pec exercises can actually ruin your posture and cause injuries.

That’s why this workout involves lots of pulling exercises to keep your shoulders balanced and develop a strong foundation for you to push from.

Now… a few addendums:

Eat. If you want to add an inch to your chest, you have to do more than chug a kale shake for breakfast. Eat, eat a lot, and eat a lot of good, whole foods.

Go heavy. (You shouldn’t fail, but you should be pushing pretty hard.) Also, focus on doing more each time you lift. If during Week 1 you do a barbell bench press with 200lbs, next time do it with 205lbs. If that’s too much, you can even invest in microplates and do 202.5lbs.

There’s only two workouts: Workout A and Workout B. Alternate between workouts and do ONLY two chest workouts per week.

Note that some reps are listed “3,3” — those are called “clusters.” You’ll do three reps, take a 5 second break, and do another three reps. This way, you’ll squeeze out more reps with a very heavy weight and get more muscle-building stimulus.